Mad Hatter Tea

allisonswonderland

DIS Veteran
Joined
Nov 4, 2005
Messages
2,289
Can anyone give me some info on this? I have the prices on things from the em but for anyone who has had them....can you cut to make it more affrodable? I would love to do this but have not had my planning session yet and am afraid .....
 
i dont have any info but my SM did tell me you can "tweak" things in any of their packages to get the costs down aslong as it doesnt have a minimum.

What was the price you were quoted?
 
Well I was really quoted a price for the decor like the teapot big flowers mushrooms, etc there were several things and that was 2000 something and then Mad Hatter, ALice and Queen 1400 something, there was no quote on linens or food....
 
I remember seeing a special on TV that to have all the linens, floral, characters and food, it was somewhere above $10,000 as pictured. I am sure you could cut unnecessary things to get that down.

Brittany
 

faeriegrl said:
I remember seeing a special on TV that to have all the linens, floral, characters and food, it was somewhere above $10,000 as pictured. I am sure you could cut unnecessary things to get that down.

Brittany

Yep that is about the price with the props, lineens, alice characters, floral and food etc....I am sure you can do something nice w/out this kind of pricetag imo!
 
MIL threw me a surprise bridal shower as a Mad Hatter's Tea the day before the wedding. The photos are available here. Easiest way to get to them is to click on the "Bridal Tea" tab on the left hand side. Skips over all the wedding photos.

The pricetag on the event has been a closely guarded secret. When I asked DH in response to your question he said, "The easiest way to do it is to get rid of the characters and the props."

Edit: What the specific details of the package are, I don't know. If you look at the photos, you might be able to compare our event vs. the packages event. I know they were going to move the centerpieces we had (Not the Mad Hatter's centerpieces in Wishbook) to the marina when we were planning for the dessert party there. We also ended up with smaller numbers than expected from what I am able to gather.
 
I am at home and have a lap top so they are taking forever to load...where did your event take place? The Boardwalk is where all of the pictures of the event are from. Disney is great at figuring out ways to make you spend more....if you don't spend 2000 on props you get a 500 set up fee. It is just so cute! Ahhh!
 
That is where I am thinking....Yours was awfully nice Underthemistletoe. Props and Characters, you better give the supriser a BIG HUG! I am thinking of nixing the props and just doing upgraded linens. characters and floral...of course the cake and food. What time did yours start what kind of food di you have and how long did the party last?
 
allisonswonderland said:
That is where I am thinking....Yours was awfully nice Underthemistletoe. Props and Characters, you better give the supriser a BIG HUG!
Yes, I got spoiled rotten. And I will be the first to admit it. It was a wonderful time. My MIL really took geat joy in planning the whole event, too. She fell in love with the Mad Hatter cakes... it just kind of sparked the whole thing. I will be making a photo album for her once we get our proofs, etc. I thought that would be the nicest way to thank here.

allisonswonderland said:
I am thinking of nixing the props and just doing upgraded linens. characters and floral...of course the cake and food. What time did yours start what kind of food di you have and how long did the party last?
Again, I really don't know about the logistical and pricing on the event. I am not even sure what the upgraded linens fall into. Are the colored linens considered upgraded for the tea?

I think everyone got there for noon. I didn't actually get there until 12:15. Someone sent us a whole pack of pictures... and the party was cranking before I ever got there! We had to be done and out with the whole thing for 3:00 as there was a very high demand for Whitehall that day. They were setting up for the cocktail receptions as we were packing things up to leave.

The food was excellent. It was fairly simple, to be honest. Reading from the menu I saved:

-Selection of seasonal sliced fruit served with yougart custard dip
-Mixed greens salad with tomatoes, cucumbers, and croutons, served with selections of Ranch, Raspberry and Champagne vinaigerettes, and French dressings
-Tuna, egg, and chicken salad gourmet petit finger sandwiches
-Bride and groom tuxedo strawberries
-Assorted tea cookies
And, of course, the cake.

The Whitehall Room and Patio was a really excellent spot for it. There was something incredibly appealing about being at the Grand with its Alice theme and having them there. Besides, the looks on people's faces from the monorails were priceless! The kids were all smashed up against the windows pointing and trying to get their parents to see.
 
Thanks- I guess there are other menus, I will talk to my em....so you really think it is worth it for the tea party....I always kind of wanted one and then I started asking questions about it, but I just don't want to blow it all because we have a home reception to still pay for. So how many did you have?
I do believe that the colored linens are upgrade. I forgot to look at your centerpieces.
 
allisonswonderland said:
Thanks- I guess there are other menus, I will talk to my em....so you really think it is worth it for the tea party....I always kind of wanted one and then I started asking questions about it, but I just don't want to blow it all because we have a home reception to still pay for.
I don't really think that's a question I can answer. I truly and honestly don't know what the pricetag on the event was. This was a gift to me from my MIL. She didn't want us getting married without all the trimmings. She considered the bridal shower part of those trimmings.

I don't think anyone can determine if something is "worth it" unless they are answering the question for themselves. For example, I would love a huge leather Coach purse. But not for $300+. There are plenty of people that I see with the exact one I would like. For them, obviously, the purse was "worth it." For me, not so much.

I think this event is something that you, your DFi, and any other parties involved with paying for the wedding, need to sit down and talk about. Although it may be something you would love to have, it may be an impractical place to put money for the rest of the people involved.

What type of "event" are you planning on using the tea party for? Can't very well throw yourself a bridal shower. A brunch?

allisonswonderland said:
So how many did you have?
Number of guests, right? We were right about the 25-30 mark, I think. It was 3 tables of between 6-8.

Edit: I was just kind of thinking about this... Had we been left to our own devices, then no, we would have not had a Mad Hatter's Tea. The prospect of owning a home is far more important to us. We would have put that money into a down payment. Of course, we live in one of the most expensive areas in the country. Our first home is likely to be a half million dollar townhome. Not becuase that's what we want, but because that is what is available. The new construction signs for single family homes read, "From the low 1 million!" around here. It's sick.

Additionally, we were legally wed in August 2004 in a quick courthouse ceremony. It was a decision we made and executed in about two weeks. With him in the military, everything was too uncertain to not have the legal documents we needed. In the military, if you're not married, you're nothing.

But, with that came a really tough dilemma when it came to the Disney wedding. We really wanted to take the money, pay off our debt, and purchase a home. It was MIL that stuck to her guns. She reminded us that when we called and spoke with her about the courthouse wedding, that we had promised not to abandon the Disney wedding... the wedding we had all been planning for nearly three years.

I think the bridal shower was so incredibly important to her becuase of everything that we had been through and the "Should we? Shouldn't we?" back and forth fights (and I mean fights) we had. I think our situation lends itself to the explanation as to why we had the type of event we did and the costs associated with it.
 
I was thinking it would be bridesmaids luncheon for my bridesmaids and other ladies in the family. I am planning a "girls day" for my bridesmaids and thought that would be a great way to kick off the day.
 
UnderTheMistletoe, I'm playing "catch-up" this week since I haven't been on the Dis much over the past couple of months.

I must say that your bridal tea party looked (and sounded) amazing. Wow! And as I looked through your photos, I loved how your tea party was decorated. Your linen package looked very similar to the linen package that Disney Floral put together for the "Land of Oz" portion of my vow renewal's dinner party : click here.

If anyone is contemplating a whimsical linen package for their event, I think UnderTheMistletoe and I can vouch for Disney Floral’s wonderful work. They truly know how to put something together that will simply light up a room in full-blown Technicolor. ;)

Thanks again, UnderTheMistletoe, for sharing your event with us here on the Dis.
 
Janet2k said:
If anyone is contemplating a whimsical linen package for their event, I think UnderTheMistletoe and I can vouch for Disney Floral’s wonderful work. They truly know how to put something together that will simply light up a room in full-blown Technicolor. ;)

I could not agree more!
 












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